Two towering light rigs stood in the parking lot of the Alltel Wireless store by the Lakes Mall on Monday, shining brightly in the scene's background.

Inside the store, 5025 Harvey, camera and audio technicians busily hooked up equipment. Actors practiced lines and facial expressions while the director coached them and assistants padded their makeup.

A familiar-looking actor stood in the heart of the commotion, sporting a shirt adorned with an Alltel button, spiky blonde hair and an infectious smile. Nearby, four actors wearing Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T polo shirts prepared for the shoot.

Soon, they were ready to begin filming, and a silence spread throughout the store lobby.

"Let's try it from the top," the director ordered.

Monday was no ordinary day for the Muskegon Alltel store. Production crews and actors, including Alltel's famous character "Chad," descended on the site to film two new commercials.

"Nervous Customer" and "Farewell" are scheduled to air nationally in the coming weeks, but will not be shown in the Muskegon and Grand Rapids areas until October. Detroit's Campbell-Ewald Advertising handled production along with The Institute, a California-based company.

Alltel chose to film the new spots in Muskegon because it has long been a successful market for the company, according to Mark McCaslin, director of marketing and communications with Alltel.

"The Harvey store is one of our best-selling locations," said McCaslin, who works in Alltel's Little Rock, Ark. branch. "We wanted to come here and show our support to the city."

AT&T signed an agreement with Verizon Wireless in May to purchase some markets under management by the Alltel Divestiture Trust, including Muskegon and Oceana counties. Alltel will continue "business as usual" in those counties until completion of the "regulatory review and approval process."

While prepping for the shoot, "Chad," whose real name is Chad Brokaw, drank Red Bull and chatted about "Batman: The Animated Series" with some crew members. Brokaw originally wanted to be a comic book illustrator, and he said he continues to draw.

Brokaw broke into professional acting about 10 years ago. He auditioned and received a role in a "Tetris 2" video game commercial in his hometown of Chicago.

Chronicle/Cory MorseChad Brokaw is pictured on the set of an Alltel commercial at Alltel Wireless in Norton Shores. Browkaw, an actor from Los Angeles, plays Chad the Alltel representative in the well-known Alltel commercials.

"The residual money was impressive," said Brokaw, who was a bartender at the time. "I was hoping to be the next Sean Penn."

Brokaw moved to Los Angeles and has been doing commercials ever since. He has been Alltel's poster boy for more than three years.

Sometimes the actors receive the script the day of the commercial shoot, Brokaw said. This can be difficult because his lines often involve "lots of technical jargon."

"It can be quite a mouthful," said Brokaw.

The filming for "Nervous Customer" required many takes, battling slip-ups and facilitating improvisation. Director Evan Bernard worked with actress Keri Setaro throughout the shoot, giving tips like being less "stalker-ish" and using more nervous laughter. Setaro's character is gaga over Alltel and Chad.

"I named my dog after you ... Chad Alltel," she gushed during one take.

Meanwhile, Setaro's character sneeringly explained that she was trying to avoid Chad's nemeses salesmen from Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T, played by Matthew Simmons, Ian Ross Gould, Adam Herschman and Scott Halberstadt, respectively.

Chronicle/Cory MorseKeri Setaro, an actress from New York, is pictured on a TV monitor as she performs in an Alltel commercial.

In one version of the commercial, the "geeks" stood outside the window looking into the store before wildly fleeing an imaginary bee. In another, the camera panned to them flexing their muscles and trying to look pretty.

Halberstadt, a native of Connersville, Ind., has been acting professionally for seven years and nonprofessionally since he was in junior high. He has also had roles in the 2006 movie, "Smokin' Aces," and 16 episodes of Nickelodeon's "Drake & Josh."

Gould appeared in an episode of "ER" in 2006, while Herschman has had movie roles in "Accepted," "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" and "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay."

Brokaw has no set plans for work beyond commercials. He has landed roles in several movies and television shows, including a guest spot on "According to Jim."

Currently, Brokaw is pitching a new show to HBO. He and two other writers penned a pilot for a show, entitled "Finding the Kallisters."

In the proposed show, Brokaw would play a man rescued from a mental institution by his brother. Brokaw's character then lives with his brother's family and finds that they are even crazier than he is.

The idea blossomed from an improvisational sketch, Brokaw said. After hearing the pitch, HBO representatives asked Brokaw and his two friends to go back and plan the first two seasons of the show.

Meanwhile, he is making the most of his commercial opportunities.

"And cut!" Bernard yelled after he had seen enough of each snippet.

Chronicle/Cory MorseMatt Simmons, a Los Angeles actor who portrays the Verizon representative in the Alltel commercials, runs out into Ellis Road as part of the commercial. The car was not an extra, but a West Michigan motorist.

After the longer, more improvisational set of takes, the crew filmed the actors following the script strictly. Workers immediately began editing the footage in a back room.

In the fall, Muskegon residents will have a reason to watch television advertisements with the same vigilance they afford their favorite shows. If nothing else, they can smile at the Alltel commercials' backdrop with silent pride.